Reasons for Eric Cantor’s defeat (3 letters)

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and his wife, Diana, leave the stage after his concession speech in Richmond, Va., on June 10. Cantor lost in the GOP primary to tea party candidate Dave Brat. (Steve Helber, The Associated Press)

So, Eric Cantor lost his bid to return to Congress for an eighth term. What, then, have we learned from his loss? Bottom line, our country is not interested in immigration reform. Cantor spent too much time trying to appease voters by saying he would work with Democrats on immigration reform. But many of us don’t want it. We want our current immigration laws to be enforced. We want better monitoring of visas so that people with expired visas are sent home.

Thor Johnson, Arvada

This letter was published in the June 14 edition.

Cantor’s “upset for the ages” was only the tip of the iceberg. American citizens clearly are fed up with inaction and inattention from their elected representatives in Washington. Virginia primary winner Dave Brat capitalized on this widespread dissatisfaction despite being heavily outspent by his veteran D.C. opponent. “Dollars do not vote, you do,” concluded Brat in his victory speech. He’s right.

Steve Shogan, Englewood

This letter was published in the June 14 edition.

Two reasons Eric Cantor was defeated. 1. Voter apathy on the main part of the Republican mainstream and 2. With the “polls” predicting he’d win easily, too many figured he’d get in, that their vote wasn’t going to matter. It’s a sad, worrisome day when a small minority rules over the majority, simply because most voters are apathetic.

What’s worse is how seriously the Republican Party is taking this. Instead of trying to change their philosophy, they should be trying to reignite the fire to get their members active.

Jerry Minerich, Westminster

This letter was published in the June 14 edition.

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Glad to see thor is still around. He’s welcome back here anytime.
Mr. Minerich, I believe someone once said that 90% of winning is showing up. The tea partiers did. What’s your excuse?

thor

pete, I have been blocked and I have no idea why and none of the moderators will tell me.

Dano2

IF you look at him, he is an apparatchik. Boring, soulless. He came up through the Republican machine created after the Goldwater defeat, and he knows he’s got a cushy job – paying much more and having similar influence – on K St. The movement conservative got comfortable. He’s set for life.

Best,

D

primafacie

I’ll go out on a limb and suggest Eric Cantor lost because more voters preferred the other guy, whoever he is, largely because he sold a more fiscally conservative message. Can’t tell you where he stands on any other issues. Just haven’t looked.

But it remains to be seen if this guy can sell it in the general election.

peterpi

It sure makes the general election less of a snoozer in VA’s 7th CD. The Democrat now has a fighting chance.
Lots of people comfortable with Cantor because he was a known quantity and could deliver the schwag may feel a Republican novice benchwarmer is no better than a Democratic one.

eddie47

Some Americans are simply unhappy about any politician no matter which party. They will vote for anyone who offers any kind of change and once elected that politician will then be placed on the chopping block. Brat may have his place in the sun for awhile but it won’t be long before its his turn in the shooting gallery.

primafacie

Can’t argue with that. Although, who knows, maybe this Brat guy has a wider message. If he can sell it, more power to him. But I can understand why Republicans are nervous, risking what had been a pretty much of a lock seat in the hands of an unknown. They’d be wise to throw some muscle behind him, even if for whatever reason they’re unsure of his agenda.

Ann_Elin

If folks like the ayn randian economic politics of paul ryan, then they’ll LOVE the new brat in town.

primafacie

Cool.

irisman

The Tea Partisans have fire in the belly, something the mainstream Republicans lack. It will be an interesting race if the Democrats can get out the vote.

toohip

What will be interesting is just how bat-sh-t crazy is Bratt, and enough to let hid Dem opponent, also a college professor at the same university, win? If the Dem wins, that will pretty much end the Tea Party displacing Republicans.

toohip

Cantor is jewish, and the last remaining non-Christian Republican in Congress. Now all but one of the 278 Republicans in Congress. . .are white, but they’re all Christian!

peterpi

There’s Christian, … and then there’s Christian.
Nobody will ever confuse a Roman Catholic with a Mennonite with a member of the Assemblies of God.
I think there are 10 Jews in the current House of Representatives, including Cantor (he’ll be there until January). That’s the bare minimum for a minyan, but is 10/435th of the House, and therefore the Jewish members, as a group, have no more influence than the House Fraternal Order of the Jackalope Caucus.
Cantor’s religion is itself irrelevant, as far as I’m concerned, except as an answer to a trivia question.
I mean, I seriously doubt Cantor’s primary opponent had a slogan of “Don’t Vote for the Yid.”

Psst: Jewish is capitalized.

GenePH

Keith Ellison is the first Muslim[2][3] to be elected to the Congress. Min.

peterpi

toohip said Cantor was the last remaining non-Christian Republican in Congress. Wikipedia says Rep. Ellison is a Democrat. Do you know something different?

Dano2

He knows how to plagiarize.

Best,

D

GenePH

Why are you always so partisan? !

toohip

Because Gene, YOU DON’T IT! The point of my statement is that the Republican party has come down to “old white men.” where you just made the point that Democrats are more diverse. While Cantor was not any diversity icon, like Ellison is that the Jewish Republicans held aloft as an example, it’s just a curiosity that he was the last non-Christian; the male and white still made him a member of the club.

tomfromthenews

“It’s a sad, worrisome day when a small minority rules over the majority, simply because most voters are apathetic.”

Welcome to Jefferson County public schools.

Ann_Elin

Maybe the voters were tired of his “not only no, but hell no” way of trying to govern. He had his sights set on bigger things and forgot about pandering to his gerrymandered constituency.
I will not miss his pouty, sad-sack countenance on the teevee screen – his public television whining days are over and I see that as not a good thing, but a great thing.

Granny

The lesson here is to GET OUT AND VOTE. The majority of Americans are for a path to citizenship, and against tax breaks as well as continued subsidies of most benefit to the wealthy offset by austerity measures targeted toward reducing programs that help our nation’s most vulnerable. We can only hope this majority understands the issues, and votes in November.

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